Creating a methodology so city-level sanitation investment decisions can be supported by a better understanding of pathogen flows
This Policy Brief summarises an initial research study which developed a conceptual model of faecal pathogen pathways in urban environments.
The proposed model uses a “source-pathway-receptor” approach: it considers release of pathogens into the environment, transport in the environment, and eventual human exposure.
The model can potentially provide a framework for comparing the relative impacts of different sanitation options on health; the next step should be to test the approach in a real city.
This research was led by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). See open access: Mills, F., Willetts, J., Petterson, S., Mitchell, C. and Norman, G. 2018 ‘Faecal pathogen flows and their public health risks in urban environments: A proposed approach to inform sanitation planning’ International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph/
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